Volume 5 - CH 23

Chapter 23 – Staff Appointment and Royal Flag

I leave Girasole in charge of supervising the cargo transport and relax over a cup of coffee in the cafeteria.

“Whew, I heard that the problems on the sea side are mostly taken care of, but what about the Imperial Army that is besieging Lucca on land?”

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it. There are walls, so they can defend themselves, but I don’t think they have the troops to attack and win.”

Shea nodded in agreement with Ness’ opinion.

“I think that’s true. For the time being, I will be stuck with Lucca; I hope I don’t have to act…”

“Well, it can’t be helped. I think they will ask us to buy food again, so why don’t we enjoy relaxing on the Hideaway at that time?”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s take a dip in the Jacuzzi on the Hideaway, just as Shea said.”

The Hideaway is becoming less and less popular, but it is a precious ship where I can take a bath with the Girasole. I’ll have to find an opportunity to take advantage of it.

I’m feeling a little better. Oh, Girasole is back.

“Thank you all for your hard work. Did you have any problems unloading?”

“Yes, it was getting dark, so we finished up today. I’ve asked them to start early tomorrow morning. Is that all right?”

“Yes, we will stay here for the time being. I will leave everything to you, Alessia-san, and thank you for your cooperation.”

“Understood.”

“Everyone must be tired, so please take a bath, and then let’s have dinner at the restaurant. The food on this ship is delicious.”

“Fufu, I’m really looking forward to it. Then we will have a bath.”

“Yes.”

“Mage-sama, does this ship have a ufo catcher?”

“Yes, there is. Please come and see it later, Claretta-san.”

“Yes.”

Claretta-san looks excited. She is going to check it now.

“Claretta, it’s time for a bath and dinner now. After that, we’ll take a tour of the ship. Are you okay if we take a tour of the ship, Mage-sama?”

“Yes, you are free to do as you, please. There are some differences between this ship and the Fortress.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After a leisurely soak in the bath, we headed for the restaurant. It’s hard to avert my eyes from Girasole, who comes out in a T-shirt no matter how long it takes.

The dinner menu has more dishes that we have never eaten before, and everyone is very excited. Even the members who had already eaten at the restaurant seemed to be enjoying themselves.

After dinner, I took Claretta-san for a walk and led her to the game corner, where she jumped up and down in front of three ufo catchers.

She was so happy to see them.

“There are three machines, Wataru-san. There are many stuffed toys that I don’t have.”

“Claretta-san, just in case, when I wear the hood, please call me mage.”

“Oh, sorry, Mage-sama.”

“No, it’s okay; it’s just time for you to get used to it. But please be careful not to call me by my name in public.”

“Yes.”

“Well, shall we get the stuffed toys?”

“Yes!”

“Which one do you want first?”

“I want them all, so I’ll start with the one on the far left.”

After all, she’s going to get them all, isn’t she? I’m all for it because it’s a great sight to see, but come to think of it, the previous stuffed toys are still on the Fortress. Well, it’s okay because it’s sealed off.

She puts the copper coins in front of the three ufo catchers with great enthusiasm. Carla-san, who was by her side, supports the depth without needing to be told. They’ve established a combination, haven’t they?

Bending forward, I imprint in my mind the happy scene of the tumbling and swaying. She intends to really take it all and comes back with a large amount of copper coins for the first exchange. She exchanged two silver coins at once.

Perhaps it was because she had tried her best to play the ufo catcher game so many times, but it took her a long time to get all the stuffed toys, and she was very happy to get them. It looks like she’ll eventually reach the level of the expert in the ufo catcher game that was on the TV show.

“I got them all, Mage-sama!”

She had a dazzling smile on her face.

“Congratulations. The Fortress’ room is sealed off, so you can leave them in Stronghold’s room.”

“Oh, that’s right. I was going to put them together, but I’ll save it for the next time. Thank you, Mage-sama.”

“No problem. We’re going back to our rooms now. Good night.”

“”Good night.””

After parting with Claretta-san and Carla-san, who were happy to hold a large number of stuffed toys, I went back to my room and took off my hood.

“Ufufu, after all, Claretta-san was overjoyed, wasn’t she?”

“Well, I knew it was going to happen. Ines and Felicia both knew what to expect, didn’t they?”

“”Yes.””

While I was playing with Rimu in my room, there was a knock at the door. Who could it be?

“Oh, Marina-san, what’s wrong?”

“There are people trying to break into this ship, Wataru-san. What should we do?”

“Hmm, intruders, this time the ticket doesn’t allow entry except into the parking lot, so there should be nothing they can do… Where are they?”

“Six people swam up to the ship and are trying to attach a tool to the ship.”

“Well, it’s probably all right, but let’s just see what’s going on. Can you show us the way?”

“Yes.”

I put on the hood and followed behind Marina-san. I’ve thought about it many times, but she doesn’t look like a terrific adventurer with Fuu-chan on her head. I guess I don’t look like a skilled merchant with Rimu on my head, either. I’m not a great merchant, to begin with.

“You can see them from here, Mage-sama.”

When I looked in the direction Marina-san was pointing, I saw that they were trying to attach something like a tool to the hull of the ship. I guess that is the tool that Marina-san told me about before, to climb up.　

“After all, they can’t touch the ship, can they? Marina-san, can you tell from here where they are scouting from?”

“No, I can’t. Shall I go get them?”

“Hmm, it will be hard to get them to give up information, so let’s just leave them alone.”

“Is that all right?”

Oh… but maybe if we catch them at a time like this, they could turn out to be a very beautiful woman. I don’t mean to do anything just because I caught them, but… should I catch them?

“Hmm, let’s catch them after all. I’ll give them permission to come aboard, and you can catch them as they come up, one at a time; that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“Yes, I’ll call the others just to be on the safe side, but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“Uh, Master, you can’t kill or injure anyone on board, can you?”

“Shea, I have a solution. I’ve been thinking about it for a while but haven’t had a chance to try it. Let’s give it a try. Marina-san, could you gather everyone else? Oh, and please bring some equipment, too.”

“Understood.”

“Ness and Shea, go and put on your equipment, too. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

“I’ll put up a barrier for you, but wouldn’t it be better for you to wear armor, too, just in case?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be hiding on board when we seize them.”

“Alright, I’ll be on my way.”

In less than 10 minutes, everyone had gathered. They’re as fast as ever, aren’t they?

“Then, I will appoint you all as staff members to guard the ship. This should help you catch the enemy on board.”

“Staff appointment? I don’t understand. Will we be able to fight?”

“Yes, you will be. May I appoint you as a staff member?”

I said confidently that I had a solution, but I realized after Alessia-san’s words that I didn’t know what I was talking about either. …I wondered if it would be okay.

“I understand.”

“Okay, I’ll make the appointment.”

I selected the staff appointment from the menu, and the names of the people on board came up. I selected a security guard and decided. Is this okay?

As soon as the decision was made, a magic circle appeared in front of everyone and sucked into their foreheads.

“Kya, what… what is this? I can see what’s going on inside the ship. Security procedures?　The patrol route? Oh, so that’s what this is about.”

“Alessia-san, did you find anything?”

“Yes, Mage-sama. I was surprised because of the sudden increase in the knowledge I didn’t know, but it seems that I have more knowledge about security. For combat, it seems that only the act of capturing is possible. However, it seems that the opponent can also counterattack when seized.”

Eh? Does that mean that knowledge was installed in her head by that magic circle? It’s kind of dangerous… and scary, so let’s not use it unless it’s absolutely necessary.

“Is it possible to be attacked by the other party? Then it is safer not to be a guard unless you have to capture them?”

“Yes, that’s right. Security guards are treated as an exception on board where they are not allowed to engage in combat, so they are not protected.”

I thought the guards would be well protected. Then I guess there is no need to take risks. It’s not like they’re going to catch a beautiful woman.

“Hmm… Well, let’s not capture them, then. I don’t feel the need to risk a counterattack to catch them.”

“Master, if we can limit them to one person, I think we should give it a try. If I put a barrier in all of them, it will increase safety, and above all, it is 8 to 1. By trying it now, you won’t have to rush in case of an emergency.”

“I can’t imagine what an emergency would be like, but should I give it a try? I know it’s dangerous for everyone, but could you please help me?”

“”””””””Yes.””””””””

I decided to give it a try anyway and asked Shea to put up a barrier. The intruder, who is still struggling without giving up, is given permission to come aboard.

They are suspicious and wary that they can suddenly touch the ship. If they know we are watching them, they won’t come up, so we’ll stay hidden.

After a few moments, the intruder, who had come up with caution, was easily beaten by Marina-san and fainted. Does the act of capture include a hard blow to the back of the head with the handle of a knife? Isn’t he dead?

At any rate, we tied him up and gagged him. When we took off his mask, he was an old man. It fades away.

We went on to the next place, and when we caught three of them, the rest of them stopped coming up, probably because they had noticed us. They didn’t seem to be communicating with each other, though?

The three we caught were all men. I wanted to ask if the other three were women, but as you can imagine, I couldn’t ask. I was very curious, though.

“Mage-sama, they are still not talking. Would you like to torture them? We’ve never done it before either.”

“No, Alessia-san, it’s enough that we caught him. After that, we can hand them over to Lucca.”

“But, Mage-sama, it is possible that Lucca sent them to us, right?”

“That may be so, but if an amateur tortures them, it is likely to be deceived, and if they were sent from Lucca’s side, I would give up. Can you hand them over tomorrow morning?”

“Understood.”

“I’m counting on you.”

I’m sorry I put everyone through all this trouble because of my own stupid desires. But a female spy… is something to be admired, isn’t it?

I returned to my room disappointed. After some light fun, I went to sleep. Good night.

It’s been a few days since we captured the intruder. When we were bringing the cargo into Lucca, the imperial army interfered, but they were attacked all at once from the city walls and ships and retreated after sustaining heavy damage.

The intruders were apparently from the imperial side and were being investigated in various ways. After handing over the intruder, I relieved the guard appointment. They said they vaguely remembered the job description, but it seemed to be fuzzy. It’s a scary ability, isn’t it?

And the marquis gave me five platinum coins for carrying the cargo and ten platinum coins offered to Girasole, for a total of 15 platinum coins. With five platinum coins just for carrying the cargo, I made a fortune.

The Imperial Army, perhaps shocked by the annihilation of their navy, did not make any major moves. I stayed on the Stronghold, had a lovey-dovey time, watched movies, and was pretty happy if it weren’t for the hood and the acting.

While I was leading a self-indulgent life, thinking that it would be fine if things stayed as they were, a medium-sized magic ship and two small magic ships arrived in port in Lucca.

Alessia-san said that they were carrying the flag of the royal family of the Kingdom of Brescia… It’s going to be a hassle.

Funds on hand: 62 gold coins, 87 silver coins, 66 copper coins.

Guild account: 33 platinum coins, 70 gold coins.

Savings ship: 75 platinum coins.

Pepper ship: 485 ships.